Photographic printing system

ABSTRACT

Photographic printer apparatus is a building block arrangement of printer components. An exposure determining device, which produces printer control signals derived from photographic negatives, applies such signals to a computer; and a photographic printer draws such printer control signals from the computer independently of the operation of the exposure determining device. Such an arrangement permits a plurality of printers to cooperate with a common exposure determining device; and further permits photofinishers to avoid equipment redundancies.

United States Patent Huboiet a1.

[54] PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING SYSTEM [72] Inventors: Robert W. Huboi, 1220Woodhull Road, Webster, NY. 14580; Terry E. Riley, 58 Cor-Mar Lane,Rochester, NY. 14616; Bradley D. Rising, 311 Mill Road, Rochester, NY.14626 [22] Filed: March 5, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 16,775

[451 Sept. 26, 1972 3,507,574 4/1970 Crete ..355/38 3,516,741 6/1970Thaddey ..355/41 X 3,597,071 8/1971 Jones ..355/3 OTHER PUBLICATIONSCoote, J. H. and A. P. Jenkins, A Machine for High Speed Printing from35mm. Color Transpariencies," J. Photographic Science, V011 8, No. 3, p.102 (1960) Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews AssistantExaminer-Michael D. Harris Attorney-Walter O. Hodsdon and Robert F. Cody[5 7] ABSTRACT- mining device. Such an arrangement permits a pluralityof printers to cooperate with a common exposure determining device; andfurther permits photofinishers to avoid equipment redundancies.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures COMPU TE I? [52] US. Cl. ..355/38, 355/41,355/68, 355/69 [51] Int. Cl ..G03b 27/78 [58] Field of Search "355/18,40, 41, 64, 68, 69, 355/38, 88

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,492,071 1/1970 Limnios..355/69 X 2,565,399 8/1951 Simmon ..355/58 X 3,120,782 2/1964 Goddard..355/37 3,267,800 8/1966 Baillod ..355/41 3,519,347 7/1970 Bowker..355/68 X 3,449,724 6/1969 Boland ..340/1725 3,476,477 11/1969 Balint..355/35 EXPOSURE MEASURE (Bare/'1 f /NEG\ I l4 6: 2 1 1 20} 3 a I[SENS/H2501 PAPER \z DETECTOR PRINTER SHEET 1 BF 2 P'A'TENTEDsarzs I972wmbmsmxw TIL mm Q mam V mw g k n 33b DI M ||I\|\)/ 1. i a I ESQINVENTORS TERRY E. RILEY ROBERT w. HUBO/ BRADLEY 0. RISING ATTORNEYSMush Rw MQDWQQXW PATENTEDSEPZB I972 -SHEET 2 0F 2 n *y mEwm: as:

ROBERT W HUBO/ BRADLEY D. R/S/NG TERRY E. R/LEY INVENTORS WACC A TTOR/VEYS PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvedarrangement for photographic printing apparatus for greater versatilityand efficiency thereof.

2. Description Relative to the Prior Art Typical of the arrangement ofknown photographic printers is that of the apparatus disclosed in US.Pat. No. 3,120,782, filed in the name of Goddard and Huboi, and assignedto the instant assignee. The apparatus of US. Pat. No. 3,120,782provides by means of an integrated assemblage of components for thesuperposition of photographic print paper .and a photographic negativewithin an exposure gate; the computa- .tion/determination of the degreeof exposure for the paper which is to be exposed via the negative; theexposure of such paper; and the advancing of the negative and paper toready the printer for a new printing 'operation. Batches of photographicnegatives (i.e. rolls thereof) are processed through the printer on abatchby-batch basis; and attendantly, the speed at which a number ofnegative batches may be printed is limited by the throughput-speed ofthe printer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Rather than provide for an integratedassemblage of components as in the prior art, the invention proposes aradically new approach to the design of photographic printing apparatus.In essence, the invention applies building block principles tophotographic printing; various building blocks' being interrelated andselectively cooperative with each other via a computer. Apparatus inaccordance with the invention can effectively separate fast printingoperations from slower ones, the slower operations being handled by agreater number of building blocks therefor than the building blockswhich are required for the faster operations; and attendantly, printingspeeds can, within practical limits, be as fast as desired. Exposuredeterminations which can be made, comparatively, at a clip, can be madeby one device adapted to receive serially successive batches ofnegatives; and time-consuming printing exposures may be made by a fannedparallel array of devices therefor, each of which is disposed to receiveand print from a respective negative batch.

The building block design of photographic printing apparatus as taughtby the invention permits, investmentwise, minimal initial outlay ofcapital for printing equipment for one entering the photofinishingbusiness, with built-in assurance against future equipment redundancies.As the business in question grows, only those equipments which areactually necessary to handle increased growth need be purchased, andpluggedin. Typically, a small photofinisher may employ one exposuredetermining device; one computing device;

one printing device. As the volume of his business grows, he willincrease, say, the number of his printing devices; then, perhaps, hewill increase the number of his exposure determining devices; then thenumber of his computing devices, etc.

The concepts of the invention are, thus,

1. the building block design for photographic printing apparatus,

2. the use of a common exposure determining device cooperative, via acomputer, with a plurality of photographic printing devices.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION To improve the efficiency, versatility, and costrequirements incident to practicing the photographic printing art.

The invention will be described-with reference to the figures. However,it should be borne in mind that the figures are intended to depictapparatus for implementing the above-described two concepts; and it isparticularly not intended to suggest herein that the specifics disclosedin such figures are anything more than showings of apparatus forimplementing the concepts of the invention in their broadest sense:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams illustrating the building blocknature of photographic printing apparatus according to the invention,and

FIGS. 2 and 3 are views illustrating component parts of apparatusaccording to the invention.

Referring to the figures, an exposure determining device 10 includes astepping motor 12 for feeding film negatives 14 from a batch thereofpast an optical gate 16 on a step-by-step basis. A lamp system 18illuminates each negative 14 as it appears in the gate 16; and aphotoreceptive device 20 produces a signal representative of the opticaldensity characteristics of the negative 14 in the gate 16. The negatives14, in this version of the invention, are each coded (See FIG. 2) foridentification purposes; and an array of signalproducing sensors 22 areprovided for reading such codes. The density representative signal.appearing at the output of the photoreceptive device 20 is quantized bymeans of an analogue-to-digital converter 24; and applied to a connector26 which is also adapted to receive the signal outputs from the codesensors 22. The digital representation of negative density informationis (symbolically) represented by three data bits.

The stepping motor 12 is indexed by clock pulses from a source 28thereof in a computer 30; and as each negative 14 has its density andcode data read, and applied to the computer via a connector 31, storageis made of such data by means of, say, a motor (29)- driven storage disk32: Gate circuits 34 receive the data representative signals appearingat the connector 31, and apply such signals to a register 36 in responseto clock pulses. And the register 36 applies its signals through gatecircuits 38 to the disk 32, via write heads 33, in response to clockpulses. See FIG. 3. To assure against writing over data already storedby the disk 32, an OR circuit 37, cooperative with the gate circuits 38,is adapted to write a data bit (head 40) into a peripheral track of thedisk 32 whenever identification data for a negative is written on thedisk 32. Therefore, a read head 42, disposed in advance of the writeheads 33, 40, may anticipate the presence of data stored by the disk 32,and block (NOT circuit 44) the stepping of data from the device 10 intothe computer 30 until disk storage space becomes available.

Read heads 46 adapted to read the negative identification andcorresponding density data stored on the memory disk 32 apply theirrespective output signals to a connector 48, by means of which thecomputer 30 may be (immediately, or later) connected to a parallelarrangement of printers 50, 50', 50", etc, for the making ofphotographic prints. A destructive read head 47 effectively vacatesdiscrete disk storage space whenever data is read out of such space,i.e. in response to the read-out command signal from a coincidencecircuit 58, the main purpose of which will now be described.

Each printer 50 has a stepping motor'52 for indexing negatives l4 and asupply of photographically sensitized paper 54 past an exposure gate 55in superposed relationship with respect to each other. Identificationdata on the negatives 14 is sensed by an array of signalproducingsensors 56, which apply their respective signals to the coincidencecircuit 58. With the computer connector 48 mated with a connector 60 onthe printer 50, signals from the read heads 46 in the computer areapplied to the coincidence circuit 58; and when the two sets of signalsapplied to the coincidence circuit 58 are identicalga' pulse output fromthe coincidence circuit 58 gates (62) exposure control density signalsto a digital-to-analogue converter 64. In turn, the digital-to-analogueconverter 64 causes an exposure control 66 to expose the print paper 54via the negative 14 by the requisite amount. Exposure controls are wellknown in the art; and typical of such controls is the arrangement ofshutters indicated in the above-indicated U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782. Anend-of-exposure detector 68, which may, for example, be ashutteroperated switch, produces a signal output for stepping the motor52 to bring a new negative into the exposure gate 55, whereby the wholeexposure operation may be repeated.

With the devices 10,30,5(l,50,50" all interconnected as shown, considerthe following typical operation:

Batches of negatives are fed one by one through the exposure determiningdevice 10, the computer 30 recording negative and density data as fastas it comes in. Anytime negative and density data is to be read into anoccupied memory location, the read head 42 interrupts the feeding ofdata into the computer. As soon as a'memory location has been found,however, the feeding of data into the computer resumes. As soon as onenegative batch has been completely fed through the exposure determiningdevice 10, that batch is placed in the first printer 50; and a secondnegative batch is fed through the exposure determining device. Thenegatives in the batch thereof in the printer 50 are initially indexedalong by briefly actuating a switch 80 until the code read heads 56 inthe printer 50 can read the code on the first of the negatives in thefirst batch thereof. Thereafter, the printer (at its own pace)automatically prints from the first negative batch: As soon as anegative has been printed from, the printer motor 52 in response to asignal from the printers own detector 58 operates to put a new negativein the exposure gate 58; and as soon as that new negative has beenidentified on the computer storage disk 32, by means of read heads 46,the exposure for the new negative is made, etc.

All the while that the printer 50 is printing from the first batch ofnegatives, the second batch of negatives is having its data fed intocomputer memory as fast as the computer can digest the data from thesecond batch of negatives: previously unoccupied, and newly vacated,storage locations are taken up by the data of the second batch ofnegatives. After the second batch of negatives has been completely fedthrough the exposure determining device 10, it is placed in the secondprinter 50 for printing therefrom. While the first and second printers50, 50 are printing as fast as they respectively can, a third batch ofnegatives is fed through the exposure determining device 10 (as fast asthe computer 30 will permit), the data from the negatives in the thirdbatch being stored by the computer 30 in unoccupied, and newly vacateddisk storage locations.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variationsand modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, it is within the purview of the invention tomodify, in the computer 30, the raw signal output from the exposuredetermining device 10, whereby the operation of the printer 50 may bebetter controlled; or one or more subcomponents of the various buildingblocks may be shifted to other building blocks, e.g. subcomponents 58,62could easily form part of the computer 30; or negatives could beidentified on a batch basis rather than individually, etc.

What is claimed is:

l. Photographic printing apparatus comprising:

a. first means adapted to sense the optical characteristics ofphotographic transparencies and the like for producing signalsrespectively dependent on the said optical characteristics of saidtransparencies and the like,

b. a plurality of photographic printing means for making photographicprints from photographic transparencies and the like, each of saidphotographic printing means having an exposure gate,

c. computer means selectively connectable to said first means, andselectively connectable to each of said photographic printing means,

said computer means including means for receiving and storing signalsfrom said first means, and each of said photographic printing meansincluding:

1. means for receiving signals stored by said computer, and

2. means responsive to said stored signals for making print exposures inaccordance therewith,

d. means, forming part of said first means, for indexing saidphotographic transparencies and the like through said first means,

e. means, embodied in each of said photographic printing means, forindexing photographic transparencies and the like and exposure materialpast their respective exposure gates,

the aforesaid rates of indexing being all substantially independent ofeach other,

f. means forming part of said computer for actuating said indexing meansof said first means after the characteristic signals of eachtransparency and the like have been produced, and

g. means embodied in each of said photographic printing means foractuating its respective indexing means after each print exposurethereof has been made,

h. means forming part of said first means for producing signals foridentifying transparencies and the like and correlating suchidentifications with respective characteristic signals,

j. means embodied -in each of said photographic 3 ,694,074 5 6 i. meansforming part of said comppter means for from said computer storing meanscharacteristic Storing 531d ldemlfymg slgnals relatlon to signals whichcorrespond with transparencies res ective characteristic si nals and P gand the like WhlCh are indexed mto respective printing means for use indetecting identifying 5 exposure gates signals and in response theretofor withdrawing r

1. Photographic printing apparatus comprising: a. first means adapted tosense the optical characteristics of photographic transparencies and thelike for producing signals respectively dependent on the said opticalcharacteristics of said transparencies and the like, b. a plurality ofphotographic printing means for making photographic prints fromphotographic transparencies and the like, each of said photographicprinting means having an exposure gate, c. computer means selectivelyconnectable to said first means, and selectively connectable to each ofsaid photographic printing means, said computer means including meansfor receiving and storing signals from said first means, and each ofsaid photographic printing means including:
 1. means for receivingsignals stored by said computer, and
 2. means responsive to said storedsignals for making print exposures in accordance therewith, d. means,forming part of said first means, for indexing said photographictransparencies and the like through said first means, e. means, embodiedin each of said photographic printing means, for indexing photographictransparencies and the like and exposure material past their respectiveexposure gates, the aforesaid rates of indexing being all substantiallyindependent of each other, f. means forming part of said computer foractuating said indexing means of said first means after thecharacteristic signals of each transparency and the like have beenproduced, and g. means embodied in each of said photographic printingmeans for actuating its respective indexing means after each printexposure thereof has been made, h. means forming part of said firstmeans for producing signals for identifying transparencies and the likeand correlating such identifications with respective characteristicsignals, i. means forming part of said computer means for storing saididentifying signals in relation to respective characteristic signals,and j. means embodied in each of said photographic printing means foruse in detecting identifying signals and in response thereto forwithdrawing from said computer storing means characteristic signalswhich correspond with transparencies and the like which are indexed intorespective exposure gates.
 2. means responsive to said stored signalsfor making print exposures in accordance therewith, d. means, formingpart of said first means, for indexing said photographic transparenciesand the like through said first means, e. means, embodied in each ofsaid photographic printing means, for indexing photographictransparencies and the like and exposure material past their respectiveexposure gates, the aforesaid rates of indexing being all substantiallyindependent of each other, f. means forming part of said computer foractuating said indexing means of said first means after thecharacteristic signals of each transparency and the like have beenproduced, and g. means embodied in each of said photographic printingmeans for actuating its respective indexing means after each printexposure thereof has been made, h. means forming part of said firstmeans for producing signals for identifying transparencies and the likeand correlating such identifications with respective characteristicsignals, i. means forming part of said computer means for storing saididentifying signals in relation to respective characteristic signals,and j. means embodied in each of said photographic printing means foruse in detecting identifying signals and in response thereto forwithdrawing from said computer storing means characteristic signalswhich correspond with transparencies and the like which are indexed intorespective exposure gates.